After weeks of searching and deliberation, President Trump has nominated Christopher Wray to be the new director of the FBI.
I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2017
Wray is currently a partner at law firm King & Spalding in Washington D.C. and Atlanta. He served as the assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the position. More on his bio:
Mr. Wray chairs the King & Spalding Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group, which represents companies, audit and special committees, and individuals in a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations. The group has been twice recognized by Law360 as “White-Collar Group of the Year” and described as “the premier firm in this practice area” by the U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms” survey.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Wray served from 2003 to 2005 as the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division, having been nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate’s unanimous consent for that position. Mr. Wray helped lead the Department’s efforts to address the wave of corporate fraud scandals and restore integrity to U.S. financial markets. He served on the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force and oversaw the Enron Task Force and other major fraud investigations, both around the country and internationally.
As the Criminal Division’s head, Mr. Wray led investigations, prosecutions, and policy development in nearly all areas of federal criminal law, including securities fraud, healthcare fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and trade sanctions violations, bank secrecy and money laundering offenses, public corruption, intellectual property piracy and cybercrime, and RICO. Mr. Wray was also integral to the DOJ’s response to the 9/11 attacks and played a key role in the oversight of legal and operational actions in the continuing war on terrorism. At the conclusion of his tenure in 2005, Mr. Wray received the Edmund J. Randolph Award, the Department’s highest award for public service and leadership.
Trump fired former Director James Comey in May, citing bipartisan criticism of his performance. Comey is expected to testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday morning about his firing and the ongoing FBI investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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